1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to mounting clamps and specifically to mounting clamps for facilitating the mounting and removing of power supplies from thermal freight containers.
2. Description of the Background Art
Thermal freight containers include an electric motor for driving a refrigerant compressor. The electric motor requires an external electric power source which may be found either at the storage site or on the transport platform of the thermal freight container. However, when no other power source is available, a temporary power source which includes a motor generator set, commonly known as a "gen set" may be mounted to the thermal freight containers.
The gen sets are mounted to International Standards Organization ("ISO") corner castings of the thermal freight containers. These ISO corner castings include openings for receiving and cooperating with connecting devices which are used for attaching the gen sets. A gen set is both large and heavy; thus, a fork lift is required to properly position the gen set for mounting it to the thermal freight containers. The connecting devices which are used to mount the gen set to the thermal freight containers are located on each side of the gen set. The connecting devices require precise alignment of the gen set and the ISO corner castings for proper mounting. However, it is frequently difficult to obtain precise alignment of the gen set and the ISO corner castings because of the large size and weight of the thermal freight containers, non-smooth ground surfaces, and/or damaged or warped thermal freight containers. Additionally, the connecting devices commonly include protruding elements, such as long levers, which are susceptible to damage when installing or removing the thermal freight containers. The connecting devices are also difficult to disassemble, which makes repair or maintenance of the connecting devices arduous.